TMS For Adolescents
By Sophie Simon (TMS tech) and Rose George MD
Brainsway announced that Deep TMS has officially been approved by the FDA to treat adolescents aged 15 to 21 with major depressive disorder (MDD). This is a huge step forward for the health and safety of young adults across the country. The FDA reviewed clinical evidence collected from 1120 adolescents treated across 35 Brainsway TMS centers in the US between the years 2012 and 2024 and confirmed that deep TMS is safe and effective in reducing depressive symptoms. These studies also reported that patients showed an improvement in anxiety.
The criteria for using Deep TMS as an adjunct therapy for adolescents who have MDD is the same as with adults. They must have tried at least two antidepressant medications from two different drug classes. The FDA’s approval has prompted health insurance agencies to expand their coverage to adolescents as well. Optum and some Blue Cross Blue Shield plans like Health Care Service Corporation, Highmark, Regence, Florida Blue, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, among others have now updated their coverage policies.
The inclusion of adolescents by the FDA and insurance sheds light on the importance of mental health care for adolescents. Unlike with adults, adolescents’ brains are still developing. They are in a particularly vulnerable mental state which can exacerbate the symptoms of major depressive disorder. Studies have shown that MDD in adolescents contributes to academic failure, occupational impairment, deficits in social functioning, substance use disorders, teen pregnancy, and completed suicide. Trends of major depression have drastically increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. While mental health has slowly begun to improve since the end of the pandemic in 2023, the CDC found that about 40% of teens reported persistent feelings of sadness/hopelessness that same year. So although there have been significant improvements in adolescent mental health since 2023, teens are still suffering more from MDD today than ten years ago.
Expanding access to Deep TMS for adolescents helps combat these trends in major depressive disorder for adolescents. Not only are more clinics able to offer dTMS to individuals who are struggling, but the inclusion of adolescents under insurance alleviates the financial stressor that many families face when considering mental health care for their kids. Brighter Day Psychiatry is proud to offer dTMS to adolescents and work with participating insurance plans to provide accessible and advanced technological care.
Sources:
BrainsWay Reports Expansion of Adolescent Depression Coverage Applicable to Deep TMSTM. (2021). BrainsWay. https://www.brainsway.com/news_events/brainsway-reports-expansion-of-adolescent-depression-coverage-applicable-to-deep-tms/
Croarkin, P. E., & MacMaster, F. P. (2019). Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Adolescent Depression. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 28(1), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2018.07.003
American Psychological Association. (2025, December 2). FDA clears transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for youth, and a shorter version for adults. https://www.apaservices.org/practice/business/technology/on-the-horizon/transcranial-magnetic-stimulation
Jenco, M. (2024, August 6). CDC: Teens’ mental health worse than a decade ago despite small improvements in 2023. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/29622/CDC-Teens-mental-health-worse-than-a-decade-ago?autologincheck=redirected
Kuntz, L. (2025, November 14). FDA Clears Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Adolescents With MDD. Psychiatrictimes.com; Psychiatric Times. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/fda-clears-deep-transcranial-magnetic-stimulation-for-adolescents-with-mdd